'■ PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON. 299 



'58, and 1S59. Instructive articles on Magnetism and Meteor- 

 ology were prepared in 18G1 for the American Encyclopaedia. 

 And as an illustration of his continued interest in such studies, 

 one of his latest published papers comprised a minute account of 

 tlie effects of lightning in two thunder-storms ; one occurring in 

 the spring of last year (1877) at a Light-house in Key West, 

 Florida, and the other occurring in the summer of last year at 

 New London, Connecticut.* 



ArcTiseological Work. — One of the earliest subjects taken 

 up for investigation by the Institution, was tliat of American 

 Archaeology ; the attempt by extended explorations of tlie exist- 

 ing pre-historic relics, mounds, and monuments, of the abori- 

 gines of our country, to ascertain as far as possible their primi- 

 tive industrial, social and intellectual character, and any evidences 

 ot their antiquity, or of their stages of development. The first 

 publication of " Smithsonian Contributions" comprised in a good 

 sized quarto volume an account of extensive examinations of the 

 mounds and earthworks found over the broad valley of the Mis- 

 sissippi, with elaborate illustrations of the relics and results 

 obtained : and this volume extensively circulated by gift and by 

 sale, attracted a wide-spread attention and interest, and gave a 

 remarkable stimulus to the further prosecution of such researches. 

 " Whatever relates to the nature of man is interesting to the 

 students of every branch of knowledge ; and hence ethnology 

 affords a common ground on which the cultivators of physical 

 science, of natural history, of archaeology, of language, of his- 

 tory, and of literature, can all harmoniously labor. Consequently 

 no part of the operations of this Institution has been more gen- 

 erally popular than that which relates to this subject, "f 



Special explorations inaugurated by the Institution, have sup- 

 plied it with important contributions to archaeological informa- 

 tion, and with the rich spoils of collected relics ; which together 

 with much material gathered from Arctic and from Southern 

 regions, from Europe, from Asia, and from Africa, fill now a 

 large museum hall 200 feet long and 50 feet wide, exclusively 

 devoted to comparative Anthropology and Ethnology. In 1868, 

 the Secretary reported that "during the past year greater effort 

 has been made than ever before to collect specimens to illustrate 

 the ethnology and archaeology of the North American conti- 

 nent :" and he dwelt upon the importance of the subject as a 

 study connecting all portions of the habitable earth, pointing 

 out that "it embraces not only the natural history and pecu- 

 liarities of the different races of men as they now exist upon the 



* Journal of the American Eleclrirnl Society, 1878, vol. ii. pp. 37-43. 

 TliH communication is dated Oct. 13, 1877 ; tliuugli not piiLlisheil till 

 tlnringf his last illness. 



I Siiiithsonian Report for 1830, p. 38. 



73 



